James Trifunov (July 18, 1903 – June 27, 1993) was a Canadian freestyle wrestler who competed in the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

, the

1928 Summer Olympics The 1928 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the IX Olympiad (), was an international multi-sport event that was celebrated from 28 July to 12 August 1928 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The city of Amsterdam had previously bid for ...

and 1932 Summer Olympics. His parents Mr. and Mrs. Rade Trifunov came from Jarkovac,

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

, now

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

, to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

in March 1902 and settled in Truax, Saskatchewan, where James was born the following year.

Biography

Of Serbian descent, Jim Trifunov began his career as a newsboy in Regina, later he took up wrestling at his local

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

in 1922. One year later, he had won his first of nine almost-consecutive Canadian

bantamweight Bantamweight is a weight class in combat sports and weightlifting. For boxing, the range is above and up to . In kickboxing, a bantamweight fighter generally weighs between . In mixed martial arts, MMA, bantamweight is . The name for the class ...

championships, missing only the 1931 championship due to an injury. His successes sent him to three editions of the Olympic Games, the most notable of which was in 1928, when he captured a bronze medal by overcoming Harold Sansum of

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in the match for the

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

. He also won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

in the bantamweight division at the inaugural

1930 British Empire Games The 1930 British Empire Games were the inaugural edition of what is now known as the Commonwealth Games, and was held in Hamilton, Ontario, from 16 to 23 August 1930. The event was organized by '' Hamilton Spectator'' sportswriter Bobby Robinso ...

by defeating Joseph Reid of

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. He retired from active competition following the 1932 Olympic Games and resumed his career with Regina's Leader-Post. In 1936 he was sent by the Sifton Publishing Company from Regina to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, to work with the city's Winnipeg Free Press. He would remain in Winnipeg the rest of his life. While there he took up coaching and sports administration, eventually serving as president of the Manitoba Wrestling Association for a quarter of a century. He also held executive roles in the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association and Manitoba Wrestling associations and was coach and manager of Canada's wrestling delegations to 1952,

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

, and

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad () and commonly known as Rome 1960 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 25 August to 11 September 1960 in Rome, Italy. Rome had previously been awar ...

, as well as every edition of the British Empire Games between 1954 and 1970. Among his many honors, he was made a member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1981 and has been inducted into the Canadian Olympic in 1953, Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1960, and the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. Also, he was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 1981. His voluntary activities and initiatives have included school-crossing patrols, which have spread across the continent.

Certificates and awards

* The Amateur Athletic Union of Canada certificate to Jim Trifunov for his work with the youth of Canada and his fellow sportsmen (Archives Canada). * British Columbia 1958 Centennial award to Jim Trifunov for the Canadian Amateur Wrestling Championships (Archives Canada). * An Award presented to Jim Trifunov by the Manitoba Sports Federation for a builder of sport (Archives Canada). * Card that reads Canadian Amateur Wrestling Hall of Fame James "Jim" Trifunov Admitted March 16, 1975 (Archives Canada). * Canadian Amateur Wrestling Association James Trifunov Air Canada Sports Award for Executive of the Year (Archives Canada).

References

External links

Honoured Member - JAMES TRIFUNOV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trifunov, Jim 1903 births 1993 deaths Canadian people of Serbian descent Olympic wrestlers for Canada Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic medalists in wrestling Wrestlers at the 1924 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1928 Summer Olympics Wrestlers at the 1932 Summer Olympics Canadian male sport wrestlers Wrestlers at the 1930 British Empire Games Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Commonwealth Games gold medallists in wrestling Medalists at the 1928 Summer Olympics Martial artists from Winnipeg Members of the Order of Canada Medallists at the 1930 British Empire Games Sportspeople from Saskatchewan 20th-century Canadian sportsmen